COMMENT Malaysia's decision to send back a military attache who was accused of a sexual crime in New Zealand during his tenure there has effectively ended the controversy over the matter.

Malaysia has rightfully been commended for doing the "right thing" and thus all that is left is for New Zealand authorities to put Muhammad Rizalman Ismail on trial over charges that he had committed burglary and sexual assault with intention to rape a 21-year-old woman in Wellington.

However, despite the government's announcement of its decision to send Rizalman back, there are plenty of  questions that neither the Malaysian nor the New Zealand governments have satisfactorily answered.

Rizalman was arrested on May 9, and subsequently brought back to Malaysia on May 22. Why did it take more than a month before reports about Rizalman started surfacing in the Kiwi media?